Intelligent distributed relay system

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed for implementing am Intelligent Distributed Relay (IDR). The IDR may advantageously use the best qualities of both amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward solutions. The advantageously leverages the use of a digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, which may decode the data and control information. The control information may be used to control IDR behavior (e.g., in the uplink and/or downlink directions) and to enhance its characteristics.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional application No.62/968,351, filed on Jan. 31, 2020, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for wirelesscommunications and, more particularly, to the implementation andarchitecture of intelligent distributed relays.

BACKGROUND

Wireless devices are becoming widely prevalent and are increasinglyrequesting access to wireless channels. The growing density of wirelessdeployments require increased network and spectrum availability. Currenttechniques to improve wireless coverage areas have been inadequate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the aspects of the present disclosureand, together with the description, and further serve to explain theprinciples of the aspects and to enable a person skilled in thepertinent art to make and use the aspects.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example an example block diagram of a knownamplify-and-forward relay architecture.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of an intelligentdistributed relay (IDR) system, in accordance with an aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram showing additional detail ofthe IDR system 200 as shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with an aspect ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates frame, sub-frame, and time slot timing associatedwith base station transmissions, in accordance with one or more aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of time-division duplex (TDD) pattern andtransmit power management implemented by the IDR, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of synchronization signal block structure(SSB) associated with base station transmissions, in accordance with oneor more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example block diagram of a random signal generatorused to generate a primary synchronization sequence (PSS) within thetransmitted SSB, in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example block diagram of a random signal generatorused to generate a secondary synchronization sequence (SSS) within thetransmitted SSB, in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of Physical Broadcast Channel (PCBH)payload bit content included within the transmitted SSB, in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example block diagram of encoding and modulationof the PBCH included within the transmitted SSB, in accordance with oneor more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example block diagram of a hardware PSS matchedfilter and detector implemented by the IDR, in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example block diagram of firmware demodulationand decoding of SSS and PBCH implemented by the IDR, in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example use case implementing the IDR in a streetcanyon with multiple junctions, in accordance with one or more aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a second phase of beamforming trainingimplemented by the IDR, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of non-contiguous spectrum allocationbetween two different mobile service providers, in accordance with oneor more aspects of the present disclosure.

The exemplary aspects of the present disclosure will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an elementfirst appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in thecorresponding reference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the aspects of the presentdisclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat the aspects, including structures, systems, and methods, may bepracticed without these specific details. The description andrepresentation herein are the common means used by those experienced orskilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of theirwork to others skilled in the art. In other instances, well-knownmethods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been describedin detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the disclosure.

5G strives to achieve connect billions of devices with multi-gigabitspeeds, lower latency, improved coverage and reliability, low-cost,energy efficient, and environmentally-friendly operation. The mmWavebands are considered as of the frequencies of choice for 5G, andinitially were designated for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Moreover, itis well-known that signals in the millimeter-wave bands (e.g., 28-70GHz) have a propagation of a quasi-optic nature, so various obstaclesseverely decrease the signal strength, unlike in the lower bands. Forinstance, mmWave signal strength is susceptible to severe attenuation byobjects in the propagation path such as rain, trees, walls, tintedglass, etc.

The first 5G NR network trials have shown that the mmWave coverage inurban areas is spotty and has coverage issues, which prevents operatorsfrom wide systems deployment. The coverage issue is caused by the signalpropagation properties in the mmWave band. In fact, most of the power ispropagated through the Line Of Sight (LOS); first and second orderreflections and a fraction of power received due to diffraction andobjects penetration is negligible. Previous solutions include mmWaveDistributed Relay (mDR) systems, such as amplify-and-forward relaysolutions developed to enhance the coverage for the 5G NR networksoperating in the mmWave FR2 28 GHz band. This is a low cost and lowcomplexity solution enabling SNR and throughput enhancements in shadowzones.

Such amplify-and-forward relays, commonly referred in 3GPP terminologyas “repeaters,” function to amplify and forward received analog signalwith possible carriers to intermediate (and intermediate to carrier)frequency conversion. Once installed, these repeaters continuouslyforward received signals regardless of whether there is a terminal intheir access area or not. Thus, repeaters are transparent to both theterminal and Base Station (BS), do not require standard support (exceptfor the regulation requirements and conformance tests), and guaranteeminimal possible end-to-end latency. All these factors make mDRs a keyelement of the future 5G NR network infrastructure.

The nature of the repeater system to amplify and forward received inputsignals implies that, besides the signal of interest, the repeater mayalso amplify and forward undesired noise and interference. This createsa disadvantage of an amplify-and-forward relays compared todecode-and-forward relay solutions which, as the name suggests, decodeand re-encode the received signal prior to forwarding it to the servedusers. Therefore, decode-and-forward relays do not amplify the noise andinterference, as is the case with repeaters. However, doing sointroduces a larger delay or latency, which may be longer than the LTEsub-frame duration of 1 ms in some cases. Therefore, decode-and-forwardrelays may not be a transparent solution for the base station and servedusers, and require standard support, which adds the complexity and, inturn, increases the cost of the solution.

To address these issues, the aspects described herein propose a conceptof an Intelligent Distributed Relay system (IDR). Although describedthroughout the disclosure for mmWave frequency applications (referred toin such cases as an mIDR), the aspects described herein are not limitedto mmWave frequency operation, and may be applied to any suitablefrequency or band of frequencies. The IDR aspects further discussedthroughout this disclosure may advantageously use the best qualities ofboth amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward solutions. To do so, theIDR aspects presume that a signal is amplified and forwarded with nosignificant delay, but at the same time advantageously leverage the useof Digital Signal Processing (DSP) control circuitry, which may decodethe data and control information and use it to control IDR behavior(e.g., in the uplink and/or downlink directions) and to enhance itscharacteristics.

The aspects as further described herein include two approaches forimplementation of DSP control unit. In the first approach, DSP controlunit of the IDR reuses User Equipment (UE). In accordance with theseaspects, a UE chip receives an input signal, decodes the input signal,and extracts all needed control information. Moreover, although the IDRhas an amplify-and-forward branch, this branch may be controlled by theUE device. The UE device also has extended capabilities, and thus theIDR need not use them all to control the relay retransmission. However,the UE device is generally a cost-effective solution to do so, is widelyavailable via mass market production, and possesses all needed embeddedcapabilities.

In the second approach, a DSP control unit of IDR is specificallydesigned for use with the relay device. In accordance with such aspects,the DSP control unit has a reduced set of capabilities dedicated to thisparticular implementation. The advantage of this approach is reducedcost, a reduced set of features only needed for the customizedimplementation, the utilization of a system-on-a chip (SoC) design, anda design that is not dependent on external vendors.

Regardless of the particular approach that is used for theimplementation of the DSP control unit, aspects include the DSP controlunit of the IDR facilitating the implementation of a set of functions,as further discussed herein. These functions may include, for instance,any suitable set of functions such as synchronization, power control,beamforming, sub channelization, control information extraction, etc.

The synchronization control function allows for the acquisition ofdigital synchronization using the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB)and, in conjunction with a decoded Time Division Duplex (TDD) pattern,also allows for accurate Downlink (DL) to Uplink (UL) and UL to DLswitching. For example, if there is no UL transmission scheduled in agiven time slot, then the IDR prevents re-transmission during this timeinterval and, in turn, reduces noise and interference amplification.

The power control function allows the transmit power to be setup for theDL and UL associated with the IDR in the proper manner. This means thatthe UE served to this relay can correctly adjust its transmit power(based on DL path loss measurements) to get a desired receive power atthe base station end.

The beamforming control function allows channel estimation using a pilotsignal structure.

For example, the Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) of the SSB blockmay be used for this purpose. Based on the calculated channelestimation, the DSP control circuitry predicts Antenna Weight Vectors(AWVs) for TX and RX phased antenna arrays. However, the IDR performingthe AWVs computation need not rely solely on the Radio Frequency (RF)receive power measurement, but may additionally or alternatively utilizefine time/frequency channel structure estimation for this purpose.

The sub channelization control function allows for the performance ofsignal amplification transmitted only in a desired sub channel. Forexample, current mDR solutions pass down the signal transmitted in theNR FR2 n261 band (27.5-28.35 GHz), i.e. 850 MHz of signal spectrum.However, the signal may occupy only a sub channel (or a number of subchannels in the case of carrier aggregation) of 50/100/200/400 MHz. Subchannelization and signal amplification in the desired channel allowsfor noise and interference reduction. Also, it prevents the data trafficof other operators also present in this band from being forwarded.

In general, the aspects described herein utilize control informationdecoding, which allows the IDR to “know” all control informationtransferred to the UE served to the IDR, and to tune its parametersaccordingly for overall performance optimization. An example of suchtuning parameters may be the Physical Cell ID (PCI), which is a uniquecell identifier. In this case, the IDR knows the traffic of what PCI itre-transmits, in the event that several cells are installedgeographically at the same location.

As further discussed herein, the IDR aspects allow for the IDR to remaina transparent solution for a network, as the IDR does not introduce anysignificant delay. The delay may instead be comparable to the channelpropagation delay. At the same time, this allows the IDR to decode thecontrol information used to optimize its performance.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a known amplify-and-forward relayarchitecture 100. Such previous solutions for mmWave Distributed Relay(mDR) perform amplification and forwarding of the signal transmitted ina FR2 n261 sub-band, but have drawbacks. For instance, as part of itsordinary operation, the amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 mayforward noise and interference during silent TDD periods, which hasnegative impact on overall system performance. The amplify-and-forwardrelay as shown in FIG. 1 also lacks synchronization, and thus forwardsany signal that is present at its input, which may include noise.Moreover, the amplify-and-forward relay of FIG. 1 lacks power controlfunctionality, and as a result amplification is set to a constant gainvalue. Further, the amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 performsbeamforming based on the power measurements at the intermediatefrequency, with the best sector being selected based on that metric. Forexample, a signal present in the entire n261 band, i.e. 850 MHz ofsignal bandwidth, may be forwarded. The amplify-and-forward relay ofFIG. 1 is also unaware of basic control parameters of transmission usedin a particular cell.

The amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 may be implemented as ammWave Distributed Relay (mDR) system and be structurally divided intothree units, including a DL amplify-and-forward branch 102A (shown onthe top), control circuitry 104 (shown in the middle), and an ULamplify-and-forward branch 102B (shown in the bottom). The downlink anduplink branches 102A/102B have identical structures, and differ only inthe direction of signal re-transmission (from base station (BS) to userequipment (UE, i.e. one or more devices served by the BS) or from UE toBS). Each downlink/uplink unit has an access and donor side, in whichthe access side provides access for a number of UEs (forming an accesscell) and connects them to the BS using the donor side of theamplify-and-forward relay architecture 100.

The mDR system is designed to support both Time Division Duplex (TDD)and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) modes of operation. However, the mDRnormally operates in the TDD mode, so only one of the units (downlink oruplink) receives and re-transmits the signal at the time.

Each downlink/uplink amplify-and-forward branch 102A/102B is alsoequipped with two planar phased antenna arrays of 4×4 geometry used forsignal transmission and reception. The single antenna element has dualpolarization (co-located vertical and horizontal polarization), i.e.each array has 16 V-pol and 16 H-pol elements.

Four Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC), noted as RFIC #0, #1,#2, and #3, are used to demodulate and receive the signal from onearray, and then modulate and feed the other array for transmission. Thedemodulation and modulation is performed from the Radio Frequency (RF)from the range 27.5-28.35 GHz, i.e. 850 MHz of signal spectrum, to theIntermediate Frequency (IF) of 10.56 GHz. Signal processing is performedat the IF frequency before the signal is being re-transmitted.

Each RFIC #0, #1, #2, and #3 is connected to the sub-array of 2×4elements, i.e. two RFICs are required for V-pol and H-pol operation, andfour circuits are used in total. The signal branches for V-pol and H-polare processed separately and highlighted by blue and green color in FIG.1, respectively. The operation of the DL amplify-and-forward branch 102Ais described in further detail, assuming that the UL branch 102B has asimilar or identical configuration and thus operated in a similar oridentical manner.

At the donor side, the signals obtained from RFIC #0 and #2 for V-pol(denoted as V-RX in FIG. 1) are combined/mixed using V-Comb device. Thesignals obtained from RFIC #1 and #3 for H-pol (denoted as H-RX inFIG. 1) are combined/mixed using the H-Comb device. The V-RX/H-RX signalis amplified using a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), and then transferredfrom the donor side to the access side.

At the access side, the signals for V and H branches are amplified usinganother LNA, and then each of the V-TX and H-TX signals are dividedequally between the two RFICs #0, #2 and #1, #3, respectively.

The amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 is also equipped withseveral power meters, which measure the RF signal power and transfersthe control voltage to the control circuitry 104 of a board or othersuitable component, which may form part of the amplify-and-forward relayarchitecture 100. Based on these power measurements, the optimalbeamforming Antenna Weight Vectors (AWVs) for the donor side areinstalled. Note that at the access side, the phased antenna arrays havean omni-directional pattern; however, at the donor side, the phasedantenna arrays have essentially directional patterns steered to the BSspatial direction. The latter is caused by the fact that UEs are mobilein nature, and in contrast the BS and mDR have static locations.Therefore, in such a configuration, the directional tracking of thedevices it not required, which simplifies implementation.

The RX AWV for the donor side is selected from a predefined codebookusing the best receive RF power measurement. The TX AWV for the donorside is selected to be identical to the TX AWV, assuming the reciprocitybetween the TX and RX chains. Finally, note that control function in thecurrent mDR implementation is performed based on the RF powermeasurement only, which is quite inertial in time (˜100 ms), and is notenough for accurate TDD management. Therefore, in the currentimplementation, both DL and UL amplify-and-forward branch 102A/102B arealways switched on and re-transmit the received signal (including noiseand interference), continuously.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of an intelligentdistributed relay (IDR) system, in accordance with an aspect of thedisclosure. The IDR system 200 includes the IDR 202, several UEs 204,and a base station 206. The aspects of the IDR 202 as further describedherein (which again may be used, for example, at mmWave frequencies(mIDR)), also provide an amplify-and-forward solution similar to the mDRof the amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 as shown in FIG. 1.However, the IDR 202 advantageously implements control chain circuitry250, which can receive and decode signals. For instance, and as furtherdiscussed below, the control chain circuitry 250 may be implemented as acustom or programmable DSP and corresponding control circuitry.Alternatively, and as discussed herein, the control chain circuitry 250may be implemented as a UE or portions of a UE. In any event, thecontrol chain circuitry 250 may be configured to decode thesynchronization signal block (SSB) of signals transmitted by the BS.

The information decoded from the SSB in this manner may then be used, inaccordance with the various aspects described herein, to introducevarious “intelligent” control of the relay as further discussed herein.For instance, and as noted above by way of example and not limitation,the IDR aspects as discussed herein introduce control functions such assynchronization, power control, beamforming, sub channelization, controlinformation extraction, etc. These intelligent control functions allowfor an improvement in performance, as the IDR includes anamplify-and-forward solution, but does not introduce significant delay,as the delay that is introduced may be considered as a part of thechannel delay. Therefore, from a network perspective, the IDR 202 is a“transparent” solution, and does not introduce additional complexity asin a typical decode-and-forward case.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the general block diagram of the IDR202 is similar in structure to the conventional mDR solution as shownand described herein with respect to FIG. 1. In fact, and as furtherdiscussed below, the IDR 202 may perform the same functions as theamplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 as shown in FIG. 1, with a DLamplify-and-forward branch 204A and a UL amplify-and-forward branch 204Bproviding for downlink and uplink retransmission, respectively. The IDR202 also has a DSP control circuitry 206, which can be implemented asre-use of UE device or as a custom DSP, as discussed herein, in variousaspects. Regardless of the particular implementation, the DSP controlcircuitry 206 may be configured to perform any suitable type of digitalsignal processing operations, and is configured to receive and decodesignals. Based on the decoded information, the DSP control circuitry 206may control amplify-and-forward devices in the downlink and/or uplinkbranches.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram showing additional detail ofthe IDR system 200 as shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with an aspect ofthe disclosure. The IDR system 300 includes several components that formthe IDR 301, together with the UEs and BS as shown. The IDR 301 mayoperate in a similar or identical manner as the amplify-and-forwardrelay architecture 100 of FIG. 1. For instance, the IDR 301 includes aDL amplify-and forward branch 204A and an UL amplify-and forward branch204B as shown in FIG. 2, which may include components corresponding tothose discussed above with respect to the amplify-and-forward branches102A, 102B, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, each of theDL amplify-and forward branch 204A and the UL amplify-and forward branch204B may include V-pol and H-pol splitters and combiners, power meters,LNAs, in both the downlink and uplink branches, respectively, as well asthe antenna arrays 310, 312, 314, 316.

Thus, with the exception of the additional control chain componentsdiscussed herein, which may be identified with the control chaincircuitry 250 of FIG. 2, each of the DL amplify-and-forward branch 204Aand the UL amplify-and-forward branch 204B may be implemented withsimilar or identical components as shown and described above withrespect to the DL amplify-and-forward branch 102A and the ULamplify-and-forward branch 102B associated with the amplify-and-forwardrelay architecture 100 as shown in FIG. 1. However, the aspectsdescribed herein are not limited to these examples, and the DLamplify-and-forward branch 204A and the UL amplify-and-forward branch204B may include additional, alternate, or fewer components than thosedescribed with respect to FIG. 1. For instance, the DLamplify-and-forward branch 204A and the UL amplify-and-forward branch204B may be configured to operate in accordance with any suitablefrequency (e.g., other than or including mmWave frequencies as describedherein), have antenna arrays 310, 312, 314, 316 of any suitable numberof elements, geometry, and/or size, be of a single polarity versus thedual polarity system as shown, etc.

In an aspect, the IDR 301 as shown in FIG. 3 also includes additionalcomponents that are identified with the control chain circuitry 250 asshown in FIG. 2, which include the control circuitry 350, RF filter banksub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B, intermediate frequency (IF) tobase band (BB) downconverters 304A, 304B, DSP circuitry 306A, 306B, andsubscriber identify module (SIM) circuitry 308. These components formthe control chain circuitry 250 and enable the intelligent controlfunctions as discussed herein, in accordance with various aspects. Thus,these components are the primary focus of the aspects as describedherein, as the control chain circuitry differentiates the IDRs 200, 300from the operation of the conventional amplify-and-forward relayarchitecture 100 as shown in FIG. 1.

The IDR 301 as shown in FIG. 3 may also include additional, alternate,or less components than those shown in FIG. 3, which are configured toperform the various functionalities of the aspects as described herein.Further, the various components of the control chain circuitry 250 arealso provided by way of example and not limitation, which may beimplemented as any suitable type of hardware, processors, firmware,software, or any combination of these. This may include, for instance,custom hardware and/or software components or other available componentsthat may be configured, programmed, or otherwise implemented to performthe processing and functional aspects as discussed herein. For instance,the control chain circuitry 250 may form the entirety of or a part of aUE, such as a mobile phone, which may be configured to receive anddecode transmissions from the BS and to communicate the extracted anddecoded information to the control circuitry 350.

Regardless of the particular components used to implement the controlchain circuitry 250, each of these components may be configured tocommunicate with one another in accordance with any suitable number andtype of links and/or communication protocols. For example, the controlcircuitry 350 may include one or more processing components,communication interfaces, ports, firmware, hardware, software, orcombinations thereof. In an aspect, the control chain circuitry 250 mayinclude a non-transitory computer-readable media, such as integrated orexternal memory, for example, configured to store machine-executableinstructions. These instructions may be stored on one component of thecontrol chain circuitry 250 (e.g. the control circuitry 350) or on oracross any combination of these components. In an aspect, regardless ofthe type of computer-readable medium and the instructions storedthereon, execution of these instructions by one of more components inthe control chain circuitry 250 (e.g. control circuitry 350, DRPcircuitry 306A, 306B, etc.) as discussed herein facilitates theoperation of the IDR 301 with respect to the execution of theintelligent control functions.

The control circuitry 350 may be configured to receive power measurementdata from each of the power meters as shown in FIG. 3, and to transmitcontrol signals to the LNAs in each of the DL and UL amplify-and-forwardbranches 204A, 204B to control the gain setting of each respective LNA.Additionally, the control circuitry 350 is configured to receiveinformation extracted from the DSPs 306A, 306B, which may includedecoded SSB information as discussed herein. The control circuitry 350may utilize this decoded information and/or other information that isprovided by the DSP circuitry 306A, 306B or provided via the SIMcircuitry 308, as further discussed herein, to perform variousintelligent control functions.

For instance, the control circuitry 350 may utilize the decoded SSBinformation to perform control information extraction andsynchronization with BS transmissions. This control information mayprovide various parameters indicative of the communication protocols,type of transmissions, modulation schemes, timing, etc., that define thecommunications between the base station and the served UEs, which theIDR 301 may then utilize once known to efficiently function as a relayto support such communications between these devices. Additionally, thecontrol circuitry 350 may use the control information to perform powercontrol in the each of the DL and UL amplify-and-forward branches 204A,204B by controlling the gain of one or more respective LNAs within thesebranches at appropriate times. Aspects also include the controlcircuitry 350 additionally or alternatively using the controlinformation to send control signals to the antenna arrays 310, 312, 314,316 to adjust antenna weights and/or phases in accordance with anappropriate codebook vector value to execute beamforming operations.

Still further, the control circuitry 350 may additionally oralternatively use the control information to send control signals to theRF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B to performnarrow-banded filtering based upon detected channel conditions. Forexample, aspects include the RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry302A, 302B being configured as any suitable type of digital or analogcontrollable and/or tunable filter to perform fine IF channel filteringand sub channelization with any suitable center frequency resolutiondepending upon the particular application, which may include, forinstance, 60/120/240 kHz, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RFfilter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B may be configured tooperate having a channel width of any suitable frequency width, whichmay also be tunable/adjustable.

For instance, the channel width of the RF filter bank sub-channelizationcircuitry 302A, 302B may be equal to 50/100/200/400 MHz, etc., appliedequally to the entire bandwidth, or configured as several non-contiguouschannels, such as in case of carrier aggregation, for example. Thisallows the implementation of the sub-channelization control function asdescribed herein, which may be dynamically adjusted via the controlcircuitry 350. The RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A,302B may thus operate in accordance with a set of one or more filtertuning parameters, the adjustment of which results in an adjustment tothe various parameters noted herein with respect to the filteringoperations performed, e.g., notch locations, bandwidth, frequencyresolution, frequency width, pole locations, etc.

Thus, the RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B areeach configured to filter received signals in the DL and UL directions,respectively, and to couple these filtered signals in the IF domain toeach respective IF to BB downconverter 304A, 304B. Although not shown inFIG. 3 for purposes of brevity, the downconversion of the signalsreceived via the UL and DL paths may be performed in any suitablemanner, which may include a downconversion of received signals of ahigher (RF) frequency to IF in a stage (not shown) prior to beingcoupled to the RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B.Alternatively, the DL and UL amplify-and forward branches 204A, 204B mayfunction using a direct downconversion of RF to BB without the use of anIF frequency. For example, the RF filter bank sub-channelizationcircuitry 302A, 302B may operate in accordance with RF frequencies, andthe IF to BB downconverters 304A, 304B may operate alternatively as RFto BB downconverters (e.g. IF=RF).

As shown in FIG. 3, aspects include the IDR 301 re-transmitting receivedsignals in each of the UL and DL branches 204A, 204B in parallel withthe coupling of the filtered signals to the IF to BB downconverters304A, 304B. This architecture allows the IDR 301 to re-transmit signalsreceived in the UDL and UL directions while the components of thecontrol chain circuitry 250 sample data from the signal re-transmissionsto perform the various intelligent control functions as discussedherein. For instance, once the control information is extracted by wayof this sampling, the control circuitry 350, in conjunction with theother components in the control chain circuitry 250, may facilitatedynamic adjustments to subsequent re-transmissions based upon theparticular intelligent control function(s) that is/are implemented.

The IF to BB downconverter 304A and/or 304B may be configured as anysuitable type of components configured to provide downconversion fromthe IF to BB and to perform signal demodulation in accordance with anysuitable type and number of communication protocols, and over anysuitable frequency range. For example, the IF to BB downconverter 304Aand/or 304B may be configured to perform signal demodulation of signalsfrom the IF 10.56 GHz to the zeroth BB frequency. The demodulation forV-pol and H-pol branches may be performed in parallel (e.g.,concurrently).

As mentioned above, the DSP circuitry 306A and/or 306B may beimplemented not only with hardware components, but also using firmwarecomponents realized via hardware processor(s) and/or real time systemoperation. The DSP circuitry 306A and/or 306B may be configured toperform signal digitization using Analog to Digital Conversion (ADC) andto provide the control circuitry 350 with information to realize theintelligent control functions as discussed herein. Each of theseintelligent control functions are discussed further below in greaterdetail.

To do so, aspects include each DSP circuitry 306A, 306B being coupled tothe SIM circuitry 308 via any suitable interface, such as an Internet ofThings (IoT) interface for example, which may constitute a communicationlink between the each respective DSP circuitry 306A, 306B and the SIMcircuitry 308. This communication link may support any suitable numberand/or type of interface or protocol to facilitate communication betweenthe DSP circuitry 306A, 306B and the SIM circuitry 308. The SIMcircuitry 308 may function in conjunction with any suitable type of SIMcard, which may enable the IDR 301 to connect to the network associatedwith the BS and UEs and to decode information received via the basestation transmissions using the DL branch as shown in FIG. 3 and furtherdiscussed below. The SIM circuitry 308 thus provides decoded informationreceived via the DL and UL amplify-and-forward branches 204A, 204B asshown in FIG. 3 to the DSP circuitry 306A, 306B within each of the DLand UL branches, respectively. Again, this decoded information may be,for example, control information extracted from BS transmissions, acurrent TDD pattern, beamforming information, etc., as further discussedbelow.

Synchronization and Control Information Extraction

In an aspect, the synchronization control function allows the IDR 301 toacquire digital synchronization with base station transmissions byreceiving a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmission from thebase station. Aspects include the synchronization function beingperformed in parallel (e.g. concurrently) with the re-transmission ofthe BS signals to the UEs in the downlink path. In other words, the IDR301 may sample signals transmitted by the BS while amplifying andforwarding these signals to the UEs using the DL amplify-and-forwardbranch 204A. The DSP circuitry 306A may then use these sampled signalsto extract the control information, which is provided to the controlcircuitry 350 to dynamically adjust the operation of the IDR 301 invarious ways using the intelligent control functions as discussedherein, in various aspects. In this way, the IDR 301 may initiallyoperate in a manner that is similar to conventional amplify-and-forwardrelays, such as conventional amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100as shown in FIG. 1 as discussed herein. Then, once the controlinformation is extracted from the sampled BS transmissions, the IDR 301may use this information to perform the various intelligent controlfunctions with respect to subsequent re-transmission of signalstransmitted from the base station after the control information isextracted, thereby improving performance.

Further to this point, although the aspects described herein are withrespect the IDR 301 performing such intelligent control functions, IDR301 may operate in other modes. In other words, the IDR 301 may operatein a “smart” or “enhanced” mode to perform the various intelligentcontrol functions such as synchronization, power control, beamforming,sub channelization, control information extraction, etc. However, theIDR 301 may dynamically switch between this enhanced mode and a“standard” mode of operation to provide only conventionalamplify-and-forward operation without the added intelligent functions asnoted herein, such as operation as an mDR as known in the art or theconventional amplify-and-forward relay architecture 100 as shown in FIG.1, for instance.

The ability to switch between an enhanced and standard mode of operationallows the IDR 301 to ensure backward compatibility with legacy systems.That is, the IDR 301 has backward compatibility with other legacydevices in the sense that the IDR 301 can operate in a fully compatibleDR mode (or mDR mode, as the case may be). In such a case, allmeasurements are performed in the analog domain and require more timethan if done in the digital domain (e.g. via the DSP circuitry 306A/306Band/or the control circuitry 350). For example, power measurementsperformed in the analog domain via an RMS detector require ˜100 us tocomplete a single measurement. In contrast, the digital implementationof a power measurement only requires on the order of ˜10 us formeasurement completion. Thus, it is advantageous for the IDR 301 tooperate in an enhanced mode of operation when possible to ensure thatadequate overhead is attained to facilitate reaction time to adapt tochanging channel conditions and to increase responsiveness in operation.

Again, once extracted, the IDR 301 may use the control information toperform the various intelligent control functions, thereby improvingperformance. This may include, for instance, using a Time DivisionDuplex (TDD) pattern to manage the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL)transmissions. In this way, UL signal retransmissions may be preventedduring time intervals in which only the DL signal is transmitted, andalso prevents DL signal retransmissions during time intervals in whichonly the UL signal is transmitted. Thus, the aspects described hereinfacilitate the IDR 301 reducing the amount of noise and interferencethat may otherwise be amplified and transmitted in both the DL and ULdirections.

To provide additional clarity, a discussion regarding the structure andusage of SSB transmissions is warranted. It is noted, however, that thespecific timing, frame length, and/or other metrics used in thefollowing explanation are provided by way of example and not limitation.The aspects described herein may be adapted to other protocols that mayhave different frame lengths, string sizes, transmission periods, betransmitted in accordance with variations from these examples, usingother types of protocols, etc.

In accordance with known techniques, a BS periodically transmits a frametypically having a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. Each frame has its ownSystem Frame Number (SFN), which is defined within a range from 0 to1023. Furthermore, each frame time interval is divided into 10sub-frames of 1 ms duration. In turn, a sub-frame includes several timeslots, and the number of these time slots depends on the SubcarrierSpacing (SCS). An example of the relationship among a transmitted frame,sub-frame, and accompanying time slots is shown in FIG. 4. Inparticular, FIG. 4 illustrates different partitioning of sub-frames intovarious numbers of time slots for example SCS of 15 kHz, 120 kHz, and240 kHz. Thus, and with continued reference to FIG. 4, it is noted thatfor the example SCS of 15 kHz that the duration of the sub-frame and thetime slot are identical. However, for the examples in which the SCS isequal to 120 kHz and 240 kHz, the sub-frame consists of 8 and 16 timeslots, respectively. Therefore, the duration of time slots per sub-framedecreases while the number of time slots per sub-frame increases withincreasing SCS frequencies. However, each time slot further includes, inthis example, 14 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)symbols. The number of OFDM symbols per time slot is constant and doesnot depend on the SCS frequency.

Thus, a Time Division Duplex (TDD) pattern is defined in terms of thetime slots and OFDM symbols allocated for the DL transmission, which aretypically denoted as d_(slots) and d_(sym), respectively. Moreover, thenumber of time slots and OFDM symbols allocated for the UL transmissiondenoted as u_(slots) and u_(sym), respectively. The TDD pattern has aperiod P, which is equal to the total number of time slots. An exampleof such a TDD pattern is shown in FIG. 5. In this example, P=5 slots,d^(slots)=3, d_(sym)=10, u_(slots)=1, and u_(sym)=2.

The remainder of the OFDM symbols, which are not allocated for DL or UL,are defined as “flexible” symbols. These flexible symbols are used todefine a Guard Period (GP), which is used as a transition period toswitch from the DL to UL and back from the UL to DL. The guard period isalso used to handle the propagation time delay between the BS and (UE.

As shown in FIG. 5, aspects include the IDR 301 performing transmitpower management based on the TDD DL and UL transmissions. Inparticular, this may be implemented, for instance, via the controlcircuitry 350 controlling the gain adjustment of the LNAs in the DL andUL amplify-and-forward branches 204A, 204B that precede the DL TX array312 and the UL TX array 316, as the case may be. The control circuitry350 may adjust the transmit power in this manner in each of the DL andUL directions during the aforementioned guard period, as shown in FIG.5. For instance, during a time corresponding to the DL time slots andOFDM symbols, the transmit power for the DL branch 204A is high and forthe UL branch 204B is low. In contrast, during a time corresponding tothe UL time slots and OFDM symbols, the transmit power is low for the DLbranch 204A and high for the UL branch 204B. In an aspect, FIG. 5 showsan example of UL and DL power management in a scenario in which DLtransmissions and UL transmissions are assumed to occur. However, it isnoted that although the IDR 301 receives the signals in the UL and DLdirections, these received signals are not necessarily retransmitted. Inother words, aspects include the IDR 301 selectively retransmittingsignals received via a DL or UL path, with FIG. 5 assuming suchretransmissions are occurring in this scenario for ease of explanation.

Referring now back to FIG. 4, a TDD pattern starts at the beginning ofthe first frame with index 0, and the frame is then periodicallyrepeated in time. This TDD pattern is static, i.e. its parameters arenot frequently changed. Turning now to FIG. 3, in an aspect the DSPcircuitry 306A, 306B each receive the TDD pattern parameters through theIoT interface from the SIM circuitry 308 that is integrated into the IDR301. In an aspect, the SIM circuitry 308 may be integrated as part ofthe IDR 301 and configured as any suitable type of circuit, hardwarecomponents, software components, etc. (e.g. known SIM card interfacecircuitry) configured to interface and/or communicate with any suitabletype of SIM card or other suitable type of hardware that performsassociation with the target BS and acquires the TDD pattern parameters,which are then transferred to the IDR system 300 and, in particular, theDSP circuitry 306A, 306B via each respective IoT interface. As anexample, the TDD pattern parameters that may be transferred in thismanner may include the TDD pattern period (P), the number of DL slots(d_(slots)), the number of DL OFDM symbols (d_(sym)), the number of ULslots (u_(slots)), and the number of UL OFDM symbols (u_(sym)). Once theTDD pattern parameters are received, aspects include the DSP circuitry306A, 306B and/or the control circuitry 350 calculating the number of GPOFDM symbols as follows:NGP=P*14−(d _(slots) +u _(slots))*14−(d _(sym) +u _(sym))

To acquire synchronization and to find the beginning of the frame, andthen in turn the TDD pattern, the DSP circuitry 306A, 306B and/or thecontrol circuitry 350 uses Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs), whichare transmitted by the BS using different beamforming sectors. The SSBconsists of the four OFDM symbols, and the positions of the zerothsymbol for each block are known. The positions are also dependent on theSCS parameter, i.e. the positions are predetermined in accordance withthe SCS parameters, which are defined as follows:

SCS=120 kHz:

OFDM symbol indexes: {4, 8, 16, 20}+28*n, n=0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18

SCS=240 kHz:

OFDM symbol indexes: {8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44}+56*n, n=0, 1, 2, 3,5, 6, 7, 8

In an aspect, the positions of the SSB may be counted from the beginningof the frame. For example, from the zeroth subframe as shown in FIG. 4or from the half of the frame (i.e. the fifth subframe). This issignaled by the Half Radio Frame (HRF) bit as further discussed below.The transmission of SSBs is periodical with a minimum (and default)period equal to 20 ms. The zeroth OFDM symbol is modulated by thePrimary Synchronization Sequence (PSS), and the second symbol ismodulated by the Secondary Synchronization Sequence (SSS). The first andthe third symbols are modulated by the symbols of the Physical BroadCast Channel (PBCH).

FIG. 6 shows an example structure of the SSB in greater detail. The SSBlocation in the frequency domain is defined by the GlobalSynchronization Channel Number (GSCN), which is set up as follows:

FR2: GSCN=22256+N, N=0:4383, range: 22256-26639

FR2: F_(SSB)=24250.08+N*17.28, [MHz]

The PSS occupies the 127 subcarriers in the middle of the signalspectrum of symbol #0, and the rest of subcarriers are set to zero andconstitute the guard bands. The SSS occupies the 127 subcarriers in themiddle of the signal spectrum of symbol #2. The SSS is separated fromthe PBCH payload by the guard bands of 9 and 8 zero subcarriers. ThePBCH occupies the 240 subcarriers of the symbol #1 and #3 and the restof subcarriers in the symbol #2, excluding the subcarriers occupied bySSS and guard bands.

Both the PSS and the SSS are modulated using Binary Phase Shift Keying(BPSK) modulation.

The PBCH payload part is modulated by applying Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) modulation, and the PBCH is encoded using Polar code. Eachcell or Base Station (BS) has its own unique identifier called PhysicalCell identifier (PCI), which is used to encode the sequences of SSB. ThePCI denoted as N_(ID) ^(cell) is composed of two parts as follows:N _(ID) ^(cell)=3*N _(ID) ⁽¹⁾ N _(ID) ⁽²⁾

N_(ID) ⁽¹⁾=0, 1, . . . , or 335

N_(ID) ⁽²⁾=0, 1, or 2

There are in total 3*336=1008 unique cell identifiers available. N_(ID)⁽²⁾ is encoded in the PSS transmission and N_(ID) ⁽¹⁾ is encoded in theSSS transmission. The Primary Synchronization Sequences (PSSs) aredefined in the standard [TS 38.211] using a random number generator, anexample of which is shown in FIG. 7 to clarify the operation of the IDR301 in accordance with the use of these standards. As shown in FIG. 7,the random number generator generates the basic random number X(n) isgenerated with an initial seed value as shown.

The cell identifier N_(ID) ⁽²⁾=0, 1, or 2 defines the cyclic shift forthe X(n) sequence to obtain three PSSs:X _(i)(n)=X(mod(n+i*43,127)),i=N _(ID) ⁽²⁾

Then, random sequence is modulated by BPSK as follows:

d_(PSS)(n)=1−2*X_(i)(n), i=N_(ID) ⁽²⁾

The Secondary Synchronization Sequence (SSS) is defined in the standard[TS 38.211] using a random generator, an example of which is shown inFIGS. 7 and 8. Specifically, the SSS is generated using two generators,one for the X sequence as shown in FIG. 7, and another for the Ysequence as shown in FIG. 8. Both generators are initialized with theseed values [0 0 0 0 0 0 1].

The SSS is modulated as follows:d _(SSS)(n)=(1−2*X(mod(n+m ₀,127)))*(1−2*Y(mod(n+m ₁,127)))

m₀=5*(3*floor(N_(ID) ⁽¹⁾/112)+N_(ID) ⁽²⁾)

m₁=mod(N_(ID) ⁽¹⁾,112)

The PBCH contains a master Information Block (MIB), which includes thesystem information advertised in the network by BS. The MIB of size 24bits includes the bits shown in Table 1 below in accordance with thestandard [TS 38.331, 6.2.2]. The complete description of each field canbe found in the standard at [TS 38.331].

TABLE 1 Fields Possible values systemFrameNumber BIT STRING (SIZE (6))subCarrierSpacingCommon ENUMERATED {scs15or60, scs30or120}ssb-SubcarrierOffset INTEGER (0 . . . 15) dmrs-TypeA-Position ENUMERATED{pos2, pos3} pdcch-ConfigSIB1 PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 cellBarred ENUMERATED{barred, notBarred} intraFreqReselection ENUMERATED {allowed,notAllowed} Spare BIT STRING (SIZE (1))

Except for the MIB, the PBCH payload is appended with the PHY bitsextension in accordance with the standard as defined by [TS 38.212,7.1.1]. An example of the PBCH payload bit content is shown in FIG. 9,and includes the following bits:

MIB: (a₀,a₁, . . . ,a_(A−1)), A=24 bits.

PHY bits extension:

(a_(A),a_(A+1),a_(A+2), a_(A+3)) are the 4^(th), 3^(rd), 2^(nd), and1^(st) LSB of System Frame Number (SFN).

a_(A+4) is the Half Radio Frame (HRF) bit.

(a_(A+5), a_(A+6), a_(A+7)) are the 6^(th), 5^(th), and 4^(th) bits ofSSB block index.

The PHY bits extension includes 8 bits, and therefore the total PBCHsize is equal to 32 bits.

Note that the MIB includes 6 MSB bits of the System Frame Number (SFN),and its 4 LSB bits are transmitted as a part of the PHY bits extension.The MIB also includes the Half Radio Frame (HRF) bit and 3 MSB bits ofthe SSB time index. The 3 LSB bits of the SSB time index are encoded inthe Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) as described below

The PBCH bit content is scrambled, interleaved, encoded by Polar code,and then modulated using QPSK modulation, an example of which beingshown in FIG. 10. The complete description of this process may be foundin the relevant standard.

The modulation of the SSB is performed in the frequency domain withsubcarrier indexes k=0, 1, . . . , 239. The subcarrier indexes for thePSS, the SSS, and the PBCH are provided in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 OFDM symbol number/ Subcarrier number k relative to the start ofan relative to the start of an SS/PBCH Channel or signal SS/PBCH blockblock PSS 0 56, 57, . . . , 182 SSS 2 56, 57, . . . , 182 Set to 0 0 0,1, . . . , 55, 183, 184, . . . , 239 2 48, 49, . . . , 55, 183, 184, . .. , 191 PBCH 1, 3 0, 1, . . . , 239 2 0, 1, . . . , 47, 192, 193, . . ., 239 DM-RS for PBCH 1, 3 0 + v, 4 + v, . . . , 236 + v 2 0 + v, 4 + v,. . . , 44 + v, 192 + v, 196 + v, . . . , 236 + v

The PBCH QPSK symbols are mixed with the Demodulation Reference Signals(DM-RSs), which subcarrier indexes are dependent on the parameterv=mod(N_(ID) ^(cell), 4).

The DM-RS is defined using a random generator in accordance with thestandard [TS 38.211, 7.4.1.4]. It is initialized by the C_(init),defined as:C _(init)=2¹¹*(i _(SSB)+1)*(floor(N _(ID) ^(cell)/4)+1)+2⁶*(i_(SSB)+1)+mod(N _(ID) ^(cell),4)

i_(SSB) defines the bits (3,2,1) LSB of SSB block index

The DM-RS sequence C(n) is generated as follows in accordance with thestandard [38.211, 5.2] as:C(n)=mod(X ₁(n+N _(c))+X ₂(n+N _(c)),2),N _(c)=1600X ₁(n+31)=mod(X ₁(n+3)+X ₁(n),2)X ₂(n+31)=mod(X ₂(n+3)+X ₂(n+2)+X ₂(n+1)+X ₂(n),2)

X₁(n) is initialized with X₁(0)=1, X₁(n)=0, n=1,2, . . . ,30

X₂(n) is initialized with count=sum_(i=0:30)(X₂(i)2^(i)

The sequence C(n) is then modulated using QPSK as follows:R(m)=((1-2*C(2m))+j*(1-2*C(2m+1)))/sqrt(2)

In an aspect, the IDR 301 performs synchronization via use of thematched filtering of the PSS sequence in the digital domain, which maybe performed via the DSP circuitry 306A/306B and/or the controlcircuitry 350. It is noted that the PSS is transmitted as part of theSSB block by the BS and not the UE. However, aspects include each of thedownlink and uplink branches 204A/204B including respective DSPcircuitry 306A/306B for flexibility in implementation. For instance,aspects include the donor cell associated with the UEs alternativelyoperating as another BS or another IDR 301, and thus DSP circuitry 306Bmay perform synchronization in such cases in the uplink direction.

In an aspect, the RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry 302A/302Bis represented in FIG. 11 as the IF channel filter block, which providesfiltered signals in the IF domain to the IF to BB downconverters304A/304B. Thus, the RF filter bank sub-channelization circuitry302A/302B provides filtered IF analog signals to the IF to BBdownconverters 304A/304B, which downconverts the signals from IF to BBto generate analog in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) analog signalsin the baseband domain. These I and Q baseband signals are provided to aset of A/D converters as shown, which are digitalized as digital datastreams and coupled to the DSP circuitry 306A/306B via the A/Dconverters as shown and provided to the input buffer.

This architecture thus facilitates the detection of the PSS and the SSSin accordance with a hardware PSS matched filter and detector that isimplemented via the DSP circuitry 306A/306B in the downlink and uplinkbranches 204A/204B, respectively. In an aspect, once a peak value isdetected exceeding a predefined threshold, the synchronization isacquired. This matched filter, PSS detection, and SSS detection may beimplemented using any suitable number and type of components that areintegrated as part of the IDR 301, as separate boards, dedicatedfirmware and/or processing circuitry, dedicated hardware components,etc. In an aspect, the matched filter, PSS detection, and SSS detectionmay be implemented as a separate, dedicated board using RegisterTransfer Level (RTL) techniques. As an example, the DSP circuitry306A/306B and/or other components of the control chain circuitry 250discussed herein may be implemented as any suitable type of processors,a field-programmable gate array, an embedded processor that isimplemented as part of an FPGA, etc. The firmware may be implemented,for instance, as any suitable type of executable code (e.g. C code)implemented via an embedded or other suitable type of processor.

In an aspect, after the successful detection of the SSB block, theremaining three OFDM symbols (symbols #1, #2, and #3) are stored in theinput buffer. These are then read out by the control circuitry 350 or aseparate dedicated board or processor. The SSS and PBCH are thendemodulated and decoded in firmware. This is feasible, as the period ofSSB repetition is greater than or equal to 20 ms, and thus this isenough time budget to perform demodulation in this manner.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example block diagram of firmware demodulationand decoding of SSS and PBCH implemented by the IDR 301, in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, theDSP circuitry 306A of the IDR 301, in this example, may receive one ormore of the following list of example control parameters from the SIMcircuitry 308 via an IoT interface, as shown in FIG. 3:

PCI—Physical Cell ID, N_(ID) ^(cell)

TDD pattern parameters—{P, d_(slots), d_(sym), u_(slots), u_(sym)}

GSCN—Global Synchronization Channel Number.

SSB pattern type—e.g. a 120 kHz pattern or a 240 kHz pattern.

SSB period—default period is 20 us, but it can be changed by the BS viaP_(SSB)

Bandwidth configuration, i.e. the configuration of all carriers andchannel bandwidths used for signal transmission in this geographiclocation.

In an aspect, the DSP circuitry 306A and/or control circuitry 350 (inthe DL example) may then facilitate the decoding one or more of thefollowing set of example SSB parameters by demodulation of the dataassociated with the SSB, which may occur using one or more of theparameters received via the SIM circuitry 308 as discussed above orindependently, in various aspects:

PCI—Physical Cell ID, N_(ID) ^(cell)

MIB—Master Information Block (see Table 1)

SFN—System Frame Number

HRF—Half Radio Frame bit

SSB index—Synchronization Signal Block index, i_(SSB)

In an aspect, the example list of control parameters provided by the SIMcircuitry 308 and the SSB parameters decoded via demodulation of thedata associated with the SSB as described above may collectively bereferred to herein as the control information. These control parametersand SSB parameters are provided herein for the sake of clarity and easeof explanation, and are by way of example and not limitation. Thecontrol information used by the IDR 301 in accordance with the aspectsas described herein may include alternate, additional, or fewerparameters depending upon the particular application and implementationof the IDR 301. For instance, the control information may include anysuitable type of data that may be decoded from base station data signaltransmissions and/or decoded from UE data signal transmissions. Asanother example, the control information may additionally oralternatively include any suitable type of information that may bedecoded from received control plane data during operation of the IDR301, which may be obtained via communication with the base station, oneor more UEs, or other devices not shown in the Figures for purposes ofbrevity.

Synchronization Recovery Process

In an aspect, the DSP circuitry 306A and/or control circuitry 350 usesone or more of the decoded parameters included as part of the controlinformation to perform a synchronization recovery process. For example,the DSP circuitry 306A and/or control circuitry 350 may first detect apeak value provided by the matched filter as shown and discussed abovewith respect to FIG. 11 to identify the OFDM symbol where detectionoccurs. Next, the DSP circuitry 306A and/or control circuitry 350 mayuse the SSB index to count down the indexes and identify the beginningof the frame or half of the frame, which depends upon the HRF. Forinstance, if the HRF is decoded as a 0 value, then this is the beginningof the frame, whereas if the HRF is decoded as a 1 value, then this is ahalf frame boundary. The decoded SFN provides the frame number for whichdetection was acquired.

Thus, the aforementioned parameters allow the TDD pattern to be setupcorrectly and used in time to implement the TX power reduction asdiscussed above. In an aspect, although the decoded parameters are usedby all devices in the network for synchronization, the IDR 301 may onlydecode the SSB parameters without decoding data or other parameters.

Simulation Results

A typical deployment scenario for a millimeter distributed relay (mDR)in an urban environment is coverage of areas behind corners and largeobstacles, crossing streets, driveways, etc. To re-create such ascenario in simulations, a larger street is considered in which a BS (orgNB) is located and multiple junctions, each covered with the assignedmDR, as shown in FIG. 13. The simulation parameters for the scenario asillustrated in FIG. 13 are listed below in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Parameter Value Street width 30 m Street section length 300 mNumber of mDRs per section Variable mDR height 4 m gNB height 10 m mDRmax EIRP 43 dBm gNB steerable antenna array 4 × 8 elements, 20 dBi gainPathloss model 3GPP UMi, LOS

It is assumed for the purpose of simulation that the mDR is transparentto the gNB. Nevertheless, while serving UEs through the mDR, the gNB maysteer its beam directly towards the mDR, decreasing possibleinterference from other active mDRs. Under such assumptions, the averageSINR for the mDR-gNB uplink transmission is calculated, averaging overmultiple pathloss realizations and all mDRs in the area. For a differentnumber of mDRs, the average SINR will degrade as the number of mDRsincreases, in comparison with the case of full UL interferenceavoidance, provided by the IDR 301 transmission adjustments as discussedherein. Results from this simulation are shown below in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Average Number of donor mDRs mDR spacing UL SNR SINR Degradation4 100 m  29.2 dB −1.1 dB 10 40 m 29.0 dB −2.6 dB 20 20 m 28.1 dB −4.2 dB40 10 m 26.2 dB −6.3 dB Intelligent mDR UL control SINR 32.4 dB

As reflected in the results of the simulation summarized in Table 4above, in a very sparse deployment with 100m between the mDRs, theinterference can reduce the SINR by 1.1 dB. This value is increased tosignificant values with increases in the mDR density, up to 5-6 dB. Theaspects described herein facilitate the IDR 301 to control the ULtransmission power to fully mitigate this effect.

Beamforming:

Conventionally, an amplify-and-forward relay device such as thearchitecture 100 as shown in FIG. 1 (e.g. an mDR device) uses acodebook-based approach to set up a directional antenna pattern for thedonor side of the link, as shown in FIG. 1. Such codebooks typicallyinclude a set of vector values or amplitude and/or phase weightings fora particular antenna array that correlates with specific beam directionsand/or shapes. This is typically done to enhance operation by improvingthe Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), thus increasing the operationaldistance between the mDR and the BS. A conventional amplify-and-forwardrelay device, as shown in FIG. 1, performs scanning over differentspatial sectors and measures the receive power for each scanned sectorusing the power meters as shown. Then, the sector providing the highestreceive signal power is selected and used for the donor side of thelink.

However, this training process is performed “blindly,” since aconventional amplify-and-forward relay device does not performsynchronization, and thus does not have knowledge of the positions ofthe SSB. Again, the BS transmits the SSBs with different beamformingsettings and covering different spatial sectors. In an aspect, the IDR301 advantageously knows the positions of SSBs, and thus may performbeamforming training for a given BS spatial sector in an intelligentmanner, as opposed to the conventional blind scanning approach describedabove.

Thus, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the IDR301 performs beamforming using two phases. During the first of these twophases, the IDR 301 operates to receive signals from the BS via thedownlink path in an omnidirectional mode, and power measurements areperformed via the power meters in the DL amplify-and-forward branch 204Aat the donor side, and these power measurements are then provided to thecontrol circuitry 350. That is, the DL RX array 310 may operate toreceive the downlink signals from the BS in an omnidirectional mode suchthat signals are received from the BS in each of the sectors. As the BStransmits SSBs in different sectors, the control circuitry 350 uses themeasurements provided by the power meters on the DL donor side toestimate the received power in each BS transmitted sector, and thenselects the best sector based on the measured receive power estimation.This process is similar to conventional amplify-and-forward relayprocess described above. However, the IDR 301 also performssynchronization by decoding the data received via this sector as notedabove prior to proceeding to the second phase.

In the second phase, the IDR 301 (e.g. the DSP circuitry 306A and/or thecontrol circuitry 350) receives SSBs within the selected TX vector Vhaving a period P_(SSB) (by default it is 20 ms). Next, for eachreceived SSB, the control circuitry 350 changes the receive vector U andassigns one of the vectors B_(i) from a predetermined codebookassociated with this codebook value to the DL RX array 310. An exampleof this second phase of beamforming training is shown in FIG. 14, whichdemonstrates the adjustment of the receive vector U for each decodedSSB. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the codebook includes a number ofreceive vectors Bo to B_(NRx−i), which correspond to the number ofreceive sectors associated with the DL RX array 310. Thus, theadjustment of the receive vectors associated with the predeterminedcodebook in this manner adjusts the beamforming pattern used by the DLRX array 310 to receive signals transmitted by the BS.

Additionally, aspects include the IDR 301 enhancing the selected vectorU. To do so, the control circuitry 350 may use the DSP circuitry 306A toperform channel estimation on a per subcarrier basis. Aspects includethe DSP circuitry 306A using a known demodulation reference (DM-RS)signal, which is transmitted as a part of the SSB. Once decoded, the DSPcircuitry 306A and/or the control circuitry 350 may use the channelinformation included in the DM-RS to further adjust the selected vectorU and thus fine tune the beamforming used by the DL RX array 310 toreceive the DL signals transmitted by the BS.

Sub Channelization

Sub channelization is an important feature for many mobile operators.Moreover, the spectrum allocation for different geographic locations canbe non-contiguous and, in some cases, be mixed with mobile operators.FIG. 15 shows an example of non-contiguous spectrum allocation betweentwo mobile operators, which are Carrier A and Carrier B in this example.In the provided example shown in FIG. 15, Carrier B does not own acontiguous spectrum more than 350 MHz. The segmentation pattern may varyfrom market to market, and may be subject to change over differentgeographic locations. However, other spectrum owners may deploy theirradios at close distance to the radios of Carrier B. In such cases, thefunction of sub channelization of Carrier B's radios is required for arepeater to filter out the non-owned spectrum and establish a RF link toCarrier B's BS.

In an aspect, sub-channelization may be performed by the IDR 301 usingthe information provided by the SIM circuitry 308, which includes thebandwidth configuration parameters. These bandwidth configurationparameters are provided to the DSP circuitry 306A via the IoT interfaceand, in turn, to the control circuitry 350. In an aspect, the controlcircuitry 350 provides control signals to the filter banksub-channelization circuitry 302A/302B, which may be implemented as anysuitable type of adjustable, tunable, or configurable sub-channelizationfilter bank in accordance with any suitable bandwidth, frequency range,and frequency response to filter out such sub-channels that may not bepart of a mobile operator's spectrum, thereby avoiding re-transmissionof these sub-channels. In other words, by adjustment of the filtertuning parameters associated with the filter bank sub-channelizationcircuitry 302A (in the DL example), the DL amplify-and-forward branch204 filters out at the desired (i.e. non-carrier) sub-channel fromreceived signals transmitted from the BS such that the subsequentlyre-transmitted received signals do not include the filtered outsub-channel.

The control circuitry 350 may thus transmit control signals to thefilter bank and sub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B to adjust thefilter tuning parameters associated with the filter bank andsub-channelization circuitry 302A, 302B, thereby achieving control ofthe filter characteristics of the filter bank and sub-channelizationcircuitry 302A, 302B based upon the decoded bandwidth information. As aresult, aspects include this mechanism advantageously allowing forautomatic bandwidth installation by request from the BS without anymanual support. Moreover, once the bandwidth is configured, it is nottypically not changed in time (i.e. it is generally static). Thus, oncethe control circuitry 350 obtains the bandwidth information, anadditional reconfiguration of the bandwidth happens only rarely, andthus the adjustment of the filter bank and sub-channelization circuitry302A, 302B in this manner does not adversely impact the performance ofthe IDR 301.

The aspects discussed herein are equally applicable to both the UL andDL directions of the IDR 301, although the examples provided hereingenerally are with respect to the DL direction for purposes of brevityand ease of explanation. For example, the various intelligent controlfunctions explained herein facilitated by the control chain circuitry250 may be executed via the control circuitry 350 in combination withany suitable number of other components of the control chain circuitry250. For instance, the control functions described herein with respectto the components of the control chain circuitry 250 included in the DLamplify-and-forward branch 204A may equally apply to those included inthe UL amplify-and-forward branch 204B, excepting for data or othertypes of transmission that may occur only via base stationstransmissions, only via UE transmission, etc.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to further aspects.

Example 1 is an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), comprising: adownlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch configured to receive signalstransmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the received signalsto one or more devices; and control chain circuitry configured to:extract control information using at least data decoded from asynchronization signal block (SSB) associated with at least one of thereceived signals transmitted from the base station, the controlinformation including one or more parameters that define communicationsbetween the base station and the one or more devices; and execute one ormore control functions using the extracted control information to adjustthe manner in which the DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequentlyre-transmits received signals transmitted from the base station afterthe control information is extracted.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the control chaincircuitry is configured to execute, as the one or more controlfunctions, an acquisition of a synchronization with base station signaltransmissions using the extracted control information.

In Example 3, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-2,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control chain circuitry is further configured toexecute, as the one or more control functions, an adjustment of transmitpower of the subsequently re-transmitted received signals transmittedfrom the base station during a guard period.

In Example 4, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-3,wherein: the amplify-and-forward branch is coupled to an antenna array,the control chain circuitry is configured to execute, as the one or morecontrol functions, an adjustment of predetermined codebook values usedby the antenna array to thereby modify a beamforming pattern used by theantenna array to receive signals transmitted from the base station, andthe adjustment of the predetermined codebook values being performed foreach received SSB associated with a respective one of the receivedsignals transmitted from the base station.

In Example 5, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-4,wherein: the amplify-and-forward branch includes a filter banksub-channelization circuitry, the control chain circuitry is configuredto execute, as the one or more control functions, an adjustment offilter tuning parameters associated with the filter banksub-channelization circuitry, and the adjustment of the filter tuningparameters causing the amplify-and-forward branch to filter out at leastone sub-channel of received signals transmitted from the base stationsuch that the subsequently re-transmitted received signals do notinclude the filtered out sub-channel.

In Example 6, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-5,further comprising: an uplink (UL) amplify-and-forward branch configuredto receive signals transmitted from at least one of the one or moredevices, and to re-transmit the received signals to the base station.

In Example 7, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-6,wherein: the control chain circuitry is configured to execute, as theone or more control functions, an acquisition of a synchronization withbase station signal transmissions using the extracted controlinformation, upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control chain circuitry is further configured toexecute, as the one or more control functions, (i) an adjustment oftransmit power of the subsequently re-transmitted received signalstransmitted from the base station during a guard period, and (ii) anadjustment of transmit power of the re-transmitted received signalstransmitted from at least one of the one or more devices to the basestation during a guard period.

In Example 8, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 1-7,wherein the DL amplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forwardbranch are each configured to operate in accordance with mmWavefrequencies.

Example 9 is control chain circuitry associated with an intelligentdistributed relay (IDR), the control chain circuitry comprising: asubscriber identity module (SIM) circuitry configured to generatecontrol parameters via association with a base station using receivedsignals transmitted from the base station; digital signal processing(DSP) circuitry configured to receive the control parameters and to usethe control parameters to decode SSB parameters from a synchronizationsignal block (SSB) associated with at least one the received signalstransmitted from the base station, the control parameters and the SSBparameters constituting control information defining communicationsbetween the base station and one or more devices to which the IDRre-transmits the received signals; and control circuitry configured toexecute one or more control functions using the control information toadjust the manner in which the IDR subsequently re-transmits thereceived signals transmitted from the base station after the controlinformation is obtained.

In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9, wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to execute, as the one or more controlfunctions, an acquisition of a synchronization with base station signaltransmissions using the control information.

In Example 11, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 9-10,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control circuitry is further configured to execute,as the one or more control functions, an adjustment of transmit power ofthe subsequently re-transmitted received signals transmitted from thebase station during a guard period.

In Example 12, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 9-11,wherein the control chain circuitry is configured to execute, as the oneor more control functions, an adjustment of predetermined codebookvalues used by an antenna array associated with the IDR to receive thesignals transmitted from the base station to thereby modify abeamforming pattern used by the antenna array, the adjustment of thepredetermined codebook values being performed for each received SSBassociated with a respective one of the received signals transmittedfrom the base station.

In Example 13, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 9-12,further comprising: filter bank sub-channelization circuitry, andwherein the control circuitry is configured to execute, as the one ormore control functions, an adjustment of filter tuning parametersassociated with the filter bank sub-channelization circuitry to causethe IDR to filter out at least one sub-channel of received signalstransmitted from the base station such that the subsequentlyre-transmitted received signals do not include the filtered outsub-channel.

In Example 14, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 9-13,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control chain circuitry is further configured toexecute, as the one or more control functions, an adjustment of transmitpower of re-transmitted received signals transmitted from at least oneof the one or more devices to the base station during a guard period.

Example 15 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium associated withcontrol chain circuitry of an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), thecomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by one or more components of the control chain circuitry, causethe IDR to: receive, via a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch,signals transmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to one or more devices; extract control information using atleast data decoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB) associatedwith at least one of the received signals transmitted from the basestation, the control information including one or more parameters thatdefine communications between the base station and the one or moredevices; and execute one or more control functions using the extractedcontrol information to adjust the manner in which the DLamplify-and-forward branch subsequently re-transmits received signalstransmitted from the base station after the control information isextracted.

In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15, wherein the one or morecontrol functions include an acquisition of a synchronization with basestation signal transmissions using the extracted control information.

In Example 17, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 15-16,wherein the one or more control functions includes, upon acquiringsynchronization with the base station signal transmissions, anadjustment of transmit power of the subsequently re-transmitted receivedsignals transmitted from the base station during a guard period.

In Example 18, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 15-17,wherein the one or more control functions include an adjustment ofpredetermined codebook values used by an antenna array associated withthe IDR to receive the signals transmitted from the base station tothereby modify a beamforming pattern used by the antenna array, theadjustment of the predetermined codebook values being performed for eachreceived SSB associated with a respective one of the received signalstransmitted from the base station.

In Example 19, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 15-18,wherein the one or more control functions include an adjustment offilter tuning parameters associated with filter bank sub-channelizationcircuitry to cause the IDR to filter out at least one sub-channel ofreceived signals transmitted from the base station such that thesubsequently re-transmitted received signals do not include the filteredout sub-channel.

In Example 20, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 15-19,wherein the one or more control functions include, upon acquiringsynchronization with the base station signal transmissions, anadjustment of transmit power of re-transmitted received signalstransmitted from at least one of the one or more devices to the basestation during a guard period.

Example 21 is an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), comprising: adownlink (DL) amplify-and-forward means for receiving signalstransmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the received signalsto one or more devices; and control chain means for: extracting controlinformation using at least data decoded from a synchronization signalblock (SSB) associated with at least one of the received signalstransmitted from the base station, the control information including oneor more parameters that define communications between the base stationand the one or more devices; and executing one or more control functionsusing the extracted control information to adjust the manner in whichthe DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequently re-transmits receivedsignals transmitted from the base station after the control informationis extracted.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21, wherein the controlchain means executes, as the one or more control functions, anacquisition of a synchronization with base station signal transmissionsusing the extracted control information.

In Example 23, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-22,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control chain means further executes, as the one ormore control functions, an adjustment of transmit power of thesubsequently re-transmitted received signals transmitted from the basestation during a guard period.

In Example 24, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-23,wherein: the amplify-and-forward means is coupled to an antenna array,the control chain means executes, as the one or more control functions,an adjustment of predetermined codebook values used by the antenna arrayto thereby modify a beamforming pattern used by the antenna array toreceive signals transmitted from the base station, and the adjustment ofthe predetermined codebook values being performed for each received SSBassociated with a respective one of the received signals transmittedfrom the base station.

In Example 25, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-24,wherein: the amplify-and-forward means includes filter banksub-channelization means, the control chain means executes, as the oneor more control functions, an adjustment of filter tuning parametersassociated with the filter bank sub-channelization means, and theadjustment of the filter tuning parameters causing theamplify-and-forward means to filter out at least one sub-channel ofreceived signals transmitted from the base station such that thesubsequently re-transmitted received signals do not include the filteredout sub-channel.

In Example 26, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-25,further comprising: an uplink (UL) amplify-and-forward means forreceiving signals transmitted from at least one of the one or moredevices, and to re-transmit the received signals to the base station.

In Example 27, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-26,wherein: the control chain means executes, as the one or more controlfunctions, an acquisition of a synchronization with base station signaltransmissions using the extracted control information, upon acquiringsynchronization with the base station signal transmissions, the controlchain means further executes, as the one or more control functions, (i)an adjustment of transmit power of the subsequently re-transmittedreceived signals transmitted from the base station during a guardperiod, and (ii) an adjustment of transmit power of the re-transmittedreceived signals transmitted from at least one of the one or moredevices to the base station during a guard period.

In Example 28, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 21-27,wherein the DL amplify-and-forward means and the UL amplify-and-forwardmeans each operate in accordance with mmWave frequencies.

Example 29 is control chain means associated with an intelligentdistributed relay (IDR), the control chain means comprising: asubscriber identity module (SIM) means for generating control parametersvia association with a base station using received signals transmittedfrom the base station; digital signal processing (DSP) means forreceiving the control parameters and to use the control parameters todecode SSB parameters from a synchronization signal block (SSB)associated with at least one the received signals transmitted from thebase station, the control parameters and the SSB parameters constitutingcontrol information defining communications between the base station andone or more devices to which the IDR re-transmits the received signals;and control means for executing one or more control functions using thecontrol information to adjust the manner in which the IDR subsequentlyre-transmits the received signals transmitted from the base stationafter the control information is obtained.

In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29, wherein the controlmeans executes, as the one or more control functions, an acquisition ofa synchronization with base station signal transmissions using thecontrol information.

In Example 31, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 29-30,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control means further executes, as the one or morecontrol functions, an adjustment of transmit power of the subsequentlyre-transmitted received signals transmitted from the base station duringa guard period.

In Example 32, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 29-31,wherein the control chain means executes, as the one or more controlfunctions, an adjustment of predetermined codebook values used by anantenna array associated with the IDR to receive the signals transmittedfrom the base station to thereby modify a beamforming pattern used bythe antenna array, the adjustment of the predetermined codebook valuesbeing performed for each received SSB associated with a respective oneof the received signals transmitted from the base station.

In Example 33, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 29-32,further comprising: filter bank sub-channelization means, and whereinthe control means executes, as the one or more control functions, anadjustment of filter tuning parameters associated with the filter banksub-channelization means to cause the IDR to filter out at least onesub-channel of received signals transmitted from the base station suchthat the subsequently re-transmitted received signals do not include thefiltered out sub-channel.

In Example 34, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 29-33,wherein upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, the control chain means executes, as the one or morecontrol functions, an adjustment of transmit power of re-transmittedreceived signals transmitted from at least one of the one or moredevices to the base station during a guard period.

Example 35 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium associated withcontrol chain means of an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), thecomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by one or more components of the control chain means, cause theIDR to: receive, via a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward means, signalstransmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the received signalsto one or more devices; extract control information using at least datadecoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB) associated with atleast one of the received signals transmitted from the base station, thecontrol information including one or more parameters that definecommunications between the base station and the one or more devices; andexecute one or more control functions using the extracted controlinformation to adjust the manner in which the DL amplify-and-forwardmeans subsequently re-transmits received signals transmitted from thebase station after the control information is extracted.

In Example 36, the subject matter of Example 35, wherein the one or morecontrol functions include an acquisition of a synchronization with basestation signal transmissions using the extracted control information.

In Example 37, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 35-36,wherein the one or more control functions includes, upon acquiringsynchronization with the base station signal transmissions, anadjustment of transmit power of the subsequently re-transmitted receivedsignals transmitted from the base station during a guard period.

In Example 38, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 35-37,wherein the one or more control functions include an adjustment ofpredetermined codebook values used by an antenna array associated withthe IDR to receive the signals transmitted from the base station tothereby modify a beamforming pattern used by the antenna array, theadjustment of the predetermined codebook values being performed for eachreceived SSB associated with a respective one of the received signalstransmitted from the base station.

In Example 39, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 35-38,wherein the one or more control functions include an adjustment offilter tuning parameters associated with filter bank sub-channelizationmeans to cause the IDR to filter out at least one sub-channel ofreceived signals transmitted from the base station such that thesubsequently re-transmitted received signals do not include the filteredout sub-channel.

In Example 40, the subject matter of any combination of Examples 35-39,wherein the one or more control functions include, upon acquiringsynchronization with the base station signal transmissions, anadjustment of transmit power of re-transmitted received signalstransmitted from at least one of the one or more devices to the basestation during a guard period.

An apparatus as shown and described.

A method as shown and described.

CONCLUSION

As referenced herein, the term “mmWave frequency,” or “mmWave bands,”which the aspects described herein may operate, may include, forexample, frequencies and frequency bands above 20 GHz, 24 GHz, 28 GHz,etc., up to an upper frequency. For instance, mmWave frequency bands mayinclude frequencies ranging from 20 GHz to 300 GHz, from 24 GHz to 300GHz, etc. This may include, for instance, the various bands known to beassociated with or otherwise referred to as mm-Wave frequency bands suchas 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 40 GHz, 47 GHz, 60 GHz, etc.Moreover, these bands are by way of example and not limitation, and theaspects described herein may encompass any suitable range of frequenciesoutside of the mmWave frequency bands described above and/or theaforementioned mmWave frequency bands may include additional, fewer, oralternate frequency bands than the examples described.

The aforementioned description of the specific aspects will so fullyreveal the general nature of the disclosure that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such specific aspects, without undueexperimentation, and without departing from the general concept of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications areintended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed aspects, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein.It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is forthe purpose of description and not of limitation, such that theterminology or phraseology of the present specification is to beinterpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings andguidance.

References in the specification to “one aspect,” “an aspect,” “anexemplary aspect,” etc., indicate that the aspect described may includea particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every aspect maynot necessarily include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring tothe same aspect. Further, when a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic is described in connection with an aspect, it issubmitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art toaffect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection withother aspects whether or not explicitly described.

The exemplary aspects described herein are provided for illustrativepurposes, and are not limiting. Other exemplary aspects are possible,and modifications may be made to the exemplary aspects. Therefore, thespecification is not meant to limit the disclosure. Rather, the scope ofthe disclosure is defined only in accordance with the following claimsand their equivalents.

Aspects may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuits), firmware,software, or any combination thereof. Aspects may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read andexecuted by one or more processors. A machine-readable medium mayinclude any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a formreadable by a machine (e.g., a computing device). For example, amachine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM); randomaccess memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media;flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms ofpropagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, etc.), and others. Further, firmware, software, routines,instructions may be described herein as performing certain actions.However, it should be appreciated that such descriptions are merely forconvenience and that such actions in fact results from computingdevices, processors, controllers, or other devices executing thefirmware, software, routines, instructions, etc. Further, any of theimplementation variations may be carried out by a general purposecomputer.

For the purposes of this discussion, the term “processing circuitry” or“processor circuitry” shall be understood to be circuit(s),processor(s), logic, or a combination thereof. For example, a circuitcan include an analog circuit, a digital circuit, state machine logic,other structural electronic hardware, or a combination thereof. Aprocessor can include a microprocessor, a digital signal processor(DSP), or other hardware processor. The processor can be “hard-coded”with instructions to perform corresponding function(s) according toaspects described herein. Alternatively, the processor can access aninternal and/or external memory to retrieve instructions stored in thememory, which when executed by the processor, perform the correspondingfunction(s) associated with the processor, and/or one or more functionsand/or operations related to the operation of a component having theprocessor included therein.

In one or more of the exemplary aspects described herein, processingcircuitry can include memory that stores data and/or instructions. Thememory can be any well-known volatile and/or non-volatile memory,including, for example, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory(RAM), flash memory, a magnetic storage media, an optical disc, erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), and programmable read only memory(PROM). The memory can be non-removable, removable, or a combination ofboth.

What is claimed is:
 1. An intelligent distributed relay (IDR),comprising: a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch configured toreceive signals transmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit thereceived signals to one or more devices; and control chain circuitryconfigured to: extract control information using data decoded from asynchronization signal block (SSB) associated with one of the receivedsignals transmitted from the base station, the control informationincluding one or more parameters that define communications between thebase station and the one or more devices; and execute one or morecontrol functions using the extracted control information to adjust themanner in which the DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequentlyre-transmits received signals transmitted from the base station afterthe control information is extracted, wherein the control chaincircuitry is configured to execute, as the one or more controlfunctions, an acquisition of a synchronization with base station signaltransmissions using the extracted control information, and wherein, uponacquiring synchronization with the base station signal transmissions,the control chain circuitry is further configured to execute, as the oneor more control functions, an adjustment of transmit power ofsubsequently re-transmitted received signals transmitted from one of (i)the base station, or (ii) one of the one or more devices, during a guardperiod.
 2. The IDR of claim 1, further comprising: an uplink (UL)amplify-and-forward branch configured to receive signals transmittedfrom one of the one or more devices, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to the base station.
 3. The IDR of claim 2, wherein the DLamplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forward branch areeach configured to operate in accordance with mmWave frequencies.
 4. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium associated with control chaincircuitry of an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), thecomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by one or more components of the control chain circuitry, causethe IDR to: receive, via a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch,signals transmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to one or more devices; extract control information using datadecoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB) associated with one ofthe received signals transmitted from the base station, the controlinformation including one or more parameters that define communicationsbetween the base station and the one or more devices; and execute one ormore control functions using the extracted control information to adjustthe manner in which the DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequentlyre-transmits received signals transmitted from the base station afterthe control information is extracted, and wherein the one or morecontrol functions include: an acquisition of a synchronization with basestation signal transmissions using the extracted control information,and upon acquiring synchronization with the base station signaltransmissions, an adjustment of transmit power of the subsequentlyre-transmitted received signals transmitted from one of (i) the basestation, or (ii) one of the one or more devices, during a guard period.5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein theinstructions, when executed by one or more components of the controlchain circuitry, further cause the IDR to: receive, via an uplink (UL)amplify-and-forward branch, signals transmitted from one of the one ormore devices, and to re-transmit the received signals to the basestation.
 6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5,wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more components of thecontrol chain circuitry, further cause the IDR to operate the DLamplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forward branch inaccordance with mmWave frequencies.
 7. An intelligent distributed relay(IDR), comprising: a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch coupled toan antenna array and configured to receive signals transmitted from abase station, and to re-transmit the received signals to one or moredevices; and control chain circuitry configured to: extract controlinformation using data decoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB)associated with one of the received signals transmitted from the basestation, the control information including one or more parameters thatdefine communications between the base station and the one or moredevices; and execute one or more control functions using the extractedcontrol information to adjust the manner in which the DLamplify-and-forward branch subsequently re-transmits received signalstransmitted from the base station after the control information isextracted, wherein the control chain circuitry is configured to execute,as the one or more control functions, an adjustment of predeterminedcodebook values used by the antenna array to thereby modify abeamforming pattern used by the antenna array to receive signalstransmitted from the base station, the adjustment of the predeterminedcodebook values being performed for each received SSB associated with arespective one of the received signals transmitted from the basestation.
 8. The IDR of claim 7, further comprising: an uplink (UL)amplify-and-forward branch configured to receive signals transmittedfrom one of the one or more devices, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to the base station.
 9. The IDR of claim 8, wherein the DLamplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forward branch areeach configured to operate in accordance with mmWave frequencies.
 10. Anintelligent distributed relay (IDR), comprising: a downlink (DL)amplify-and-forward branch including a filter bank sub-channelizationcircuitry and configured to receive signals transmitted from a basestation, and to re-transmit the received signals to one or more devices;and control chain circuitry configured to: extract control informationusing data decoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB) associatedwith one of the received signals transmitted from the base station, thecontrol information including one or more parameters that definecommunications between the base station and the one or more devices; andexecute one or more control functions using the extracted controlinformation to adjust the manner in which the DL amplify-and-forwardbranch subsequently re-transmits received signals transmitted from thebase station after the control information is extracted, wherein thecontrol chain circuitry is configured to execute, as the one or morecontrol functions, an adjustment of filter tuning parameters associatedwith the filter bank sub-channelization circuitry, and wherein theadjustment of the filter tuning parameters causes the DLamplify-and-forward branch to filter a sub-channel of received signalstransmitted from the base station such that the subsequentlyre-transmitted received signals do not include the filtered outsub-channel.
 11. The IDR of claim 10, further comprising: an uplink (UL)amplify-and-forward branch configured to receive signals transmittedfrom one of the one or more devices, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to the base station.
 12. The IDR of claim 11, wherein the DLamplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forward branch areeach configured to operate in accordance with mmWave frequencies.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium associated with control chaincircuitry of an intelligent distributed relay (IDR), thecomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by one or more components of the control chain circuitry, causethe IDR to: receive, via a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch,signals transmitted from a base station, and to re-transmit the receivedsignals to one or more devices; extract control information using datadecoded from a synchronization signal block (SSB) associated with one ofthe received signals transmitted from the base station, the controlinformation including one or more parameters that define communicationsbetween the base station and the one or more devices; and execute one ormore control functions using the extracted control information to adjustthe manner in which the DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequentlyre-transmits received signals transmitted from the base station afterthe control information is extracted, wherein the one or more controlfunctions include an adjustment of predetermined codebook values used byan antenna array associated with the IDR to receive the signalstransmitted from the base station to thereby modify a beamformingpattern used by the antenna array, the adjustment of the predeterminedcodebook values being performed for each received SSB associated with arespective one of the received signals transmitted from the basestation.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more components of thecontrol chain circuitry, further cause the IDR to: receive, via anuplink (UL) amplify-and-forward branch, signals transmitted from one ofthe one or more devices, and to re-transmit the received signals to thebase station.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim14, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more components ofthe control chain circuitry, further cause the IDR to operate the DLamplify-and-forward branch and the UL amplify-and-forward branch inaccordance with mmWave frequencies.
 16. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium associated with control chain circuitry of anintelligent distributed relay (IDR), the computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or morecomponents of the control chain circuitry, cause the IDR to: receive,via a downlink (DL) amplify-and-forward branch, signals transmitted froma base station, and to re-transmit the received signals to one or moredevices; extract control information using data decoded from asynchronization signal block (SSB) associated with one of the receivedsignals transmitted from the base station, the control informationincluding one or more parameters that define communications between thebase station and the one or more devices; and execute one or morecontrol functions using the extracted control information to adjust themanner in which the DL amplify-and-forward branch subsequentlyre-transmits received signals transmitted from the base station afterthe control information is extracted, wherein the one or more controlfunctions include an adjustment of filter tuning parameters associatedwith filter bank sub-channelization circuitry to cause the IDR to filtera sub-channel of received signals transmitted from the base station suchthat the subsequently re-transmitted received signals do not include thefiltered out sub-channel.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by one ormore components of the control chain circuitry, further cause the IDRto: receive, via an uplink (UL) amplify-and-forward branch, signalstransmitted from one of the one or more devices, and to re-transmit thereceived signals to the base station.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by one or more components of the control chain circuitry,further cause the IDR to operate the DL amplify-and-forward branch andthe UL amplify-and-forward branch in accordance with mmWave frequencies.